Sanofi India board approves special dividend of Rs 240 per share

The company reported net profit of Rs 123 cr for the quarter ended December, 31 2020, an increase of 27% from year-ago period

The Board of pharma company Sanofi India on Tuesday approved a final dividend of Rs 125 per share and a special dividend of Rs 240 per share for the year ended December, 2020.

The final dividend and the special dividend will be paid on or after May 4, 2021, the company said in a stock exchange filing.

The company reported a net profit of Rs 123 crore for the quarter ended December, 31 2020, an increase of 26.8 per cent compared with Rs 97 crore profit clocked in the same period a year ago. The profit for the full-year is at Rs 477 crore, up 15.2 per cent from Rs 414 crore in the last year.

Revenue from operations during the latest December quarter declined to Rs 720 crore from Rs 826 crore in the same quarter last year. The full year revenues declined 5.5 per cent to Rs 2,901 crore compared with Rs 3,070 crore during the last year.

The company, however, said that financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2020 are not comparable with that of corresponding quarter in 2019 due to completion of slump sale transaction on May 29, 2020, which resulted in transfer of Ankleshwar manufacturing facility and few products to Zentiva Private Limited.

"Sales performance for the year ended December 31, 2020 has been negatively impacted due to Covid-19 pandemic. The impact assessment of Covid-19 pandemic is a continuing process given the uncertainties associated with its nature and duration," Sanofi India said in a filing.

"The board recommended the payment of a final dividend of Rs 125 per equity share of Rs 10 each for the year ended 31 December 2020 and a special dividend of Rs. 240 per equity share of Rs 10 each for the year ended 31 st December 2020, after considering the closure of the slump sale transaction relating to Ankleshwar Manufacturing facility and reviewing the cash requirements for the Company's operations," the company said in a filing.

"Closure of register of members and share transfer books from April 21 to April 27 (both days inclusive) for determining the eligibility of shareholders for payment of the final dividend and the special dividend," it said.

The company will hold Annual General Meeting (AGM) on April 27, 2021 through video conferencing and further details of the AGM will be provided in the due course. 

The company also announced the re-appointment of Aditya Narayan as an independent director and chairman.